Newcastle United became the first-ever team to register a lower wage bill in the Premier League than they did in the Championship the previous season - though an accounting tool, as well as player bonuses, help to explain the quirk.

Last week, the Magpies filed their accounts for the 2017/18 campaign, during which they finished 10th in the top flight, and they revealed a £93.6million spend on salaries.

Yet, during the Championship-winning season of 2016/17, Newcastle declared a wage bill of £112.2m - £18.6m more than the subsequent season - which remains the the highest ever recorded in the second tier of English football.

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Huddersfield Town and Brighton & Hove Albion, who were both promoted alongside Newcastle, saw their wage bills increase substantially season on season. While Brighton's almost doubled from £40m to £78m, Huddersfield's increased almost three-fold from £21.7m in the Championship to £63m in the Premier League.

With all 20 Premier League clubs having now revealed their respective salary spends for last season, Newcastle ranked as the 13th-highest-paying employers - mirroring their current position in the top-flight table - though the figures declared for Wolverhampton Wanderers (£51m), Fulham (£54m) and Cardiff City (£48m) are likely to have increased since given that they were in the Championship in 2017/18.

Of the teams who were in the top flight last term, Newcastle declared just the 14th-highest wage bill, despite earning a 10th-placed finish.

Salary spend of each Premier League club in 2017/18

1. Manchester United - £296m (+12% year on year)

2. Liverpool - £263m (+26%)

3. Manchester City - £260m (+7%)

4. Chelsea - £244m (+11%)

5. Arsenal - £223m (+12%)

6. Tottenham Hotspur - £148m (+16%)

7. Everton - £146m (+29%)

8. Leicester City - £119m (+6%)

9. Crystal Palace - £117m (+5%)

10. Southampton - £113m (+1%)

11. West Ham United - £107m (+12%)

12. AFC Bournemouth - £102m (+30%)

13. Newcastle United - £94m (-16%)

14. Watford - £86m (+13%)

15. Burnley - £82m (+33%)

16. Brighton & Hove Albion - £78m (+95%)

17. Huddersfield Town - £63m (+190%)

18. Fulham* - £54m (+46%)

19. Wolverhampton Wanderers* - £51m (+82%)

20. Cardiff City* - £48m (+66%)

*Denotes clubs playing in the Championship in 2017/18 campaign

+Figures compiled by The Times

The Magpies also bucked the trend for rising wage costs; cumulative Premier League salaries increased by 15 per cent season on season, while Newcastle's dropped by 16 per cent.

While The Times claims that United became "the first club in the history of the Premier League" to have spent more on salaries in the Championship than they did the following season in the top flight, they also report that so-called 'accounting tools' help to explain the figures.

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It is understood that the £112.2m wage bill for the Championship contained both a £9.9m bonus - paid to the players, Benitez, every club employee bar managing director Lee Charnley, as well as to NUFC Foundation staff - and also £22m worth of 'onerous contract provisions'.

Essentially that accounts for those players no longer considered part of first-team plans but who are still employed by the club, and their contract values are therefore written off in a single accounting year. Jack Colback's deal was one of those included in the 2016/17 accounts.

Newcastle's accounts were independently audited and they are adamant they applied normal accounting practice, something which was ratified by their auditers.

Even so, Newcastle's core wage bill, excluding onerous provisions and bonuses, seems to have actually increased by 17 per cent from £80m to £94m between the Championship-winning campaign and their return to the Premier League.

That minimal rise can partly be explained by the decision to maintain a top-flight budget in the second tier in a bid to claim promotion at the first attempt, but also something which demonstrates the lack of big-money signings - and therefore big earners - brought to St James' Park during the 2017/18 season.

What's more, the Magpies' core-wages-to-revenue ratio fell from a staggering 94 per cent in the Championship to just 52 per cent in the Premier League, one of the five lowest in the Premier League.

However, it is understood that United are receptive to increasing the ratio closer by around £7m to the 60 per cent mark going forward - though, given Benitez's statements in recent days, the Newcastle manager would still like to see Newcastle spend far more on salaries.

Clubs such as Leicester City, Crystal Palace, West Ham United and Everton - who Benitez wants Newcastle to compete with for a seventh-placed finish in future campaigns - spent between £12m and £50m more than the Magpies on wages last season, though such figures are likely to have increased further since.